An award nominated poet, technology entrepreneur and speaker with geographic connections from Nigeria to Mexico, Uchechi Kalu has become a strong voice in the community of global African writers and entrepreneurs. Born in Abia State, Nigeria, she studied creative writing at University of California, Berkeley, where she became a protege of the late poet June Jordan. She is the author of Flowers Blooming Against A Bruised Grey Sky, was hailed as “a masterful debut that read nothing like a first time offering.” She has been featured on publications from Quien to Forbes, and in 2017, Kalu gave her first TEDx talk on the power of nuance, and continues to speak at conferences and literary events. She is currently the CEO of Linking Arts, a web design agency in New Orleans. Her forthcoming book of poetry (Resembling The Sea) was praised by the late poet Sam Hamill as “increasing luminous as the word, the syllable, the vowel, rises into intense lyricism, revealing Uchechi Kalu’s passionate spirit and large-hearted enthusiasm for living and dreaming. She lives in San Miguel de Allende, MX and New Orleans, LA. www.uchechikalu.com

An award nominated poet, entrepreneur, web designer and speaker with geographic connections from Nigeria to Mexico, Uchechi Kalu has become a strong voice in the community of global African writers. She is the author of Flowers Blooming Against A Bruised Grey Sky, 2006) which was hailed as “a masterful debut that read nothing like a first time offering” and nominated for a Northern California Book Award. She studied creative writing at UC Berkeley, where she was mentored by the late poet June Jordan. In 2017, she gave her first TEDx talk and continues to speak at conferences and literary events. She is currently the CEO of Linking Arts, a web design agency in New Orleans, and is also currently working on her forthcoming book titled Resembling The Sea, which was praised by the late poet Sam Hamill. Hamill describes Kalu’s poems as a place where” the simplest language becomes increasingly luminous as the word, the syllable, the vowel, rises into intense lyricism, revealing Uchechi Kalu’s passionate spirit and large-hearted enthusiasm for living and dreaming.” She lives in San Miguel de Allende, MX and New Orleans, LA. www.uchechikalu.com

Short Bio:

Uchechi Kalu is an award-nominated tech entrepreneur, author, user experience designer, speaker and poet. Her path from professional writer and published poet to tech entrepreneur started with a desire to shape the world through language. She is currently CEO of Linking Arts, a New Orleans based full-service web design and development agency focused on delivering great design and functionality. She is also the former CEO/Co-Founder of wedocracy.com, a social wedding planning website for tech savvy couples. She also hosts #YesWeCode chat, a bi weekly Sunday evening conversation about tech, inclusion and the future of innovation. In 2015, she was named as one of The Silicon Bayou 100, an annual list of the 100 most influential and active people in tech and entrepreneurship in Louisiana. She splits her time between New Orleans, LA and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. She is the author of Flowers Blooming Against A Bruised Grey Sky, a collection of poetry published by Whit Press. She is currently working on her forthcoming book titled Resembling The Sea. www.uchechikalu.com

Her journey from poet to technologist began with her love of language and desire to shape the world we live in via engaging use of content. As the host of #yeswecode Twitter chat (currently on sabbatical), she explores what it means to make the tech space inclusive and representative of the global world we live in.

In the tech world, her experience includes working in tech startups and web development. From 2013-2016, she was the CEO of wedocracy.com, a social wedding planning network aimed at making wedding planning enjoyable for the tech savvy couple. In 2015, she was named one of New Orleans’ Silicon Bayou 100, a list of the most influential and active people in tech and entrepreneurship in Louisiana. In 2016, she was nominated for the Ada Lovelace GNO Awards , which recognizes the contributions of women in the New Orleans tech landscape.

She is currently the CEO of Linking Arts, a web development and design firm she co-owns with her husband. Linking Arts focuses on user- and content-driven online experiences.

In the writing world, Kalu took what started as an opportunity to be mentored by the late Poet June Jordan and turned it into a writing and publishing career that eventually led her to technology.

She is the author of Flowers Blooming Against A Bruised Grey Sky, nominated for a Northern California Book Award. She is currently working on her forthcoming book. She splits her time between New Orleans, LA and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. www.uchechikalu.com